Pressure vessels are often made of two or more components that are connected together at some point during manufacturing. These components generally have mating faces that are provided with complementary positioning elements to ensure that the components are perfectly aligned. These positioning elements have a number of advantages, including being able to ensure that components are always oriented in accordance with their design. However, pressure vessels, particularly thin wall pressure vessels, are often prone to high stress concentration when provided with these positioning elements.
In some arrangements, the positioning elements include a cylindrical pin located at the interface between the two components being joined together. Cylindrical pins have some limitations and drawbacks. At first, small cylindrical pins are difficult to handle during the assembly and pins manufactured with very small tolerances are expensive. They can also be easily damaged if they are not handled properly. Then, the arrangements require that two perfectly colinear cylindrical holes be provided in the adjacent surfaces. These holes produce stress concentrations due to the relatively deep holes that are required and the sharp edges thereof.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved positioning arrangement for components of a pressure vessel, and a method of assembling two adjacent components of a pressure vessel, with very minimal stress concentrations.